


Stop At Red, Kiss Till Green

by YuugiMuffin



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, god im so, rivalshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22257853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YuugiMuffin/pseuds/YuugiMuffin
Summary: She leans in for a red light kissAnd places her love on my lips
Relationships: Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	Stop At Red, Kiss Till Green

His knuckles are white against his already pale skin as he grips the steering wheel for dear life. Beside him, he can hear Yugi humming to himself, to a tune he’s never heard before but wants to hear for the rest of his life.

The car slows to a stop as a red light from above shines down on them, and Seto sneaks a peek at his rival, who looks gorgeous bathed in rose coloured glow. It reflects off of his large eyes and many belt buckles, and Seto stares for a second even after the light changes to green.

He turns away quickly and continues driving. He barely knows where they’re going. Some restaurant on the edge of the city, and it might not even be open because it’s dark out and the streets are empty.

But Yugi wanted to go, and so Seto is taking him. If they’re closed, he’ll make them open. He’ll get Yugi his takoyaki if it’s the last damn thing he does.

“Kaiba-kun, you’re shaking. Are you alright? Turn the heater on.” Yugi’s voice cuts through the near-silence, and his humming comes to a halt.

Seto stops the car again, at another red light, and looks over at the passenger seat, “I’m fine.” He says.

Those big purple eyes, kissed by a pale crimson glow, gaze up a him imploringly, and Seto has to fight the urge to lean forward. Has to fight the urge to reach out to him. Has to fight the urge to love him.

Because Yugi already has someone, even if that someone is gone, and Seto has never stood a chance against the late Pharaoh, least of all in this.

He wishes he did. He wishes that Yugi would look at him with that sweet smile of his and say  _ “I love you, my other half.” _

But Seto is not his other half. Seto is a rival, Seto is an acquaintance, Seto is barely a friend. Seto is nothing. 

He never thought that he would let himself feel so weak, least of all around or because of  _ Yugi _ , but once the Pharaoh was gone and their duels forever at a standstill, he found a new rival in his  _ first _ rival. Yugi is the King of Games, even if the Spirit of the Puzzle held the label for the time that he walked the modern earth. Yugi earned that title on his own, by defeating the Pharaoh in a duel Seto hadn’t even gotten to see.

So Yugi was a worthy rival, right? Perhaps he wouldn’t ignite the same spark of competition in Seto’s chest, but he could duel, and he could duel well, so that was enough. Right?

Yugi, however, did manage to light a blaze in Seto’s soul, albeit a different one. 

“Kaiba-kun, the light is green.” Yugi whispers, making himself small under Seto’s cold stare.

Seto looks away from him, cursing in his head for scaring Yugi with his stupid, mean eyes, and starts down the street once more.

He’d challenged Yugi to a duel a few months after the Pharaoh had gone, and he’d lost. Instead of gloating like Jounouchi might have, or telling him how to do better like the Pharaoh might have, Yugi just smiled. He showed his teeth in a goofy grin and said  _ “That was fun, Kaiba-kun! We should do it again sometime!” _

And they did. Seto always makes time for Yugi, no matter what important meeting might be going on. At first, he didn’t know what compelled him to drop everything and let Yugi in, but after time it became clear.

He wanted to see him smile again. He wanted to hear him laugh, see the pink along his cheekbones, watch his long eyelashes flutter away from his big, soft eyes. 

And then Seto realised it was more than that.

He just wanted to see Yugi.

No matter what.

So here they are, driving down a deserted road, away from Domino City, in the dead of night, for some fried food Yugi doesn’t even know if he actually likes. But if he doesn’t like it, that’s fine, Seto will take him somewhere else, buy him something different. Whatever he wants.

Another red light. Damn, they’re catching all of them, tonight, aren’t they? It’ll be morning before they get to this stupid restaurant.

But that’s fine, because he gets to look at Yugi.

He gets to stare and pretend that he’s not staring.

And maybe, part of him hopes, Yugi will look back.

But when he does, Seto has to turn away. Yugi’s gentle stare is too much.

The light turns green, and Seto follows the silent GPS instructions, taking a right turn and sighing softly when the tilt of the car moves Yugi in his direction.

“Kaiba-kun.” Yugi says, “You’re acting… different. Are you okay?”

Seto keeps his eyes on the road.  _ “I’m fine, Yugi. Just tired. Work was exhausting. It always is _ . _ ” _ He tries to say. What comes out instead is, “I love you.”

Well damn. The one thing he hadn’t wanted to say. He’d been planning to take that secret to his grave.

Another red light. He could swear the Gods are messing with him, doing it on purpose.

This time, he doesn’t look at Yugi, but Yugi is looking at him.

He stays quiet, and Yugi does too.

And then the seatbelt beside him clicks, and Yugi crawls across the center console to sit on his legs and kiss him. It’s so soft, and Yugi tastes like strawberries, and Seto doesn’t know what to do.

He does his best to kiss back, but he’s never done something like this before. He hopes he isn't making a fool of himself. He’s done enough of that tonight to last a lifetime.

Yugi presses his mouth against Seto’s in a way that’s somehow gentle and forceful at the same time. His arms, strong and wiry now that he’s grown up a bit, cradle Seto’s head, and one hand tangles its fingers into his hair.

Seto allows himself to rest one hand on Yugi’s waist, the other still on the steering wheel. He takes a deep breath in through his nose, smells Yugi’s fruit-flavoured chapstick. And then the light turns green, and before Seto can even gather his thoughts, Yugi’s back in his seat and is buckling his belt.

His hands shake even more now than before, but Seto continues driving, and prays for another red light.

The Gods, for once in his life, are kind to him. Red washes over the car, and Seto looks at Yugi with his lips parted in an unspoken question. As an answer, Yugi leans over and kisses Seto for a third time, still so tender with his touches.

Seto lets himself touch this time, cupping Yugi’s soft cheek in one hand and running the fingers on his other hand through the silky strands of Yugi’s silly, tri-coloured hair. Yugi pulls him closer, gripping Seto’s shirt with hidden strength. They kiss until the green light douses them and Seto has to continue driving, both begging for the next stoplight to shine its cherry blush in a halo around them.

**Author's Note:**

> Red by Miki Ratsula makes me emo as hell PLEASE listen to it


End file.
